Why the Game of Thrones showrunners avoid Internet conversations

Game of Thrones is in the midst of Season 4, which has generated some controversy with its rape scene from two weeks ago and its departure from the books last week. Fans of the show are quite vocal online about these issues and everything else GoT-related, but showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss don't hear any of it.

"We both made this pact that we were going to stop looking at stuff online because you can go into the rabbit hole and get lost in this world of online Thrones commentary if you're not careful," Benioff told EW.com. "We both felt a lot saner after we stopped doing that. There's many more important things to be reading about online than our own show."

The two did make what they called a "fair exception" for the Red Wedding, but otherwise they stay away almost completely. The two said that this strategy is not in reaction to one particular moment.

"You look at a message board and there might be nine positive comments, but the tenth one is negative - and that's the one you'll remember, that's what sticks in your head," Benioff said. "And you want to have an argument with the person: 'Well, here's why this happened [in the show],' and you can't. You start having an argument in your mind and you realize you're losing your mind. You're having an internal argument with somebody named DragonQueen42 - you're never going to win that argument."

Weiss added even the positive feedback does not entice them to comb through the Internet chatter.

"Even with the positive stuff it becomes a bit like trying to have a conversation in an echo chamber," Weiss said. "It completely confounds the normal creative process. It seems like an all-or-nothing thing. Either you're listening or you're not listening. It feels great that they enjoy what we're doing. You read five, six, seven of those [comments] and you get the feeling people love what you're doing. But there's a certain point that it gives you a little pleasure-hit each time you click on a comment and before you know it you're like a coke-addicted lab monkey clicking-clicking-clicking. I don't want to be a coke-addicted lab monkey. I think a couple pellets is enough and move on."

What do you think of their strategy? Let us know in the comments below.